Hello! :D

Hello! :D

Topaz: What is the main conflict of your wip?

Thank you so much for the ask, @i-can-even-burn-salad! I'll answer this one for all my WIPs!

The Tag Game!

Enchanted Illusions: A corrupt secret society seeks to cause another civil war between humans and mythical creatures, whilst murdering those who find out about this true intention. The main characters must stop them and expose their machinations before the chaos in Ansburke gets out of control.

+ BONUS - Augustus, the book's resident necromancer, must face the dire consequences of his deal with the Deamon Deathbringer, as he is torn between his past choices and his newfound love. He needs to make a decision and find a way to break his deal, but any wrong step may put his and his loved one's souls in danger

Of Starlight and Beasts: A scorned Queen seeks revenge on the realm she blames for the death of her lover, but this goal of hers has long since become tainted by her wish for conquest as she became just as murderous as those she battled in the past, generations ago. The main characters must stop her dark magic from conquering and destroying their land for good.

Realms of Loss: A continent divided into two kingdoms, after the fall of the Old Gods, has been trapped in a centuries-old war against one another for centuries - battling for power and survival as the Celestials' power wanes. When this war awakens an insane dead god and puts into motion a crooked prophecy, the "Chosen" prince must fight his fate and prevent both kingdoms from destroying each other.

Tales of Wilted Flowers: A group of outcasts, shunned, forgotten and betrayed by society throughout their lives, find themselves as the only ones willing to take a stand against a sadistic dark sorcerer and the corrupt royal family of the kingdom Wenhorn. In order not to die or meet a terrible fate, these unlikely heroes must stop their kingdom's "beloved" King from bringing back the magic of a long-since banished spellcaster.

The Last Wrath: As the Secret Court, a bloodthirsty cult that feeds off of the souls and magic of common people, returns after a long time being considered only legend, some specific individuals find their personal goals tied to not only surviving both the war between the power-hungry Morosyn Empire and the Free Realms, but also preventing this ancient court from "rewriting history in blood."

Mutant Inquiries: In a cyberpunk, near-future dystopia, mutant super-powered teens face a conspiracy involving an authoritarian government, illegal human experimentation by the PHANTOM Industries, and the truth about their own mutant existence. They become vigilantes in order to expose the truth, but find that there is much more at stake than just sticking it to authority and that their own lives are on the line.

Supernova Initiative: The most wanted intergalactic thief must steal a top-secret experiment, that was lost to so-called zealots in a faraway system, to evade being imprisoned after breaking into the Junction's most secure vault. Meanwhile, diplomatic relationships between factions and galaxies grow strained.

Lies Untold: Two brothers must race against time to evade their kingdom's royal "inquisition" after the King makes their little sister a target to be captured. In their attempt to stay alive, being hunted down while their land faces the punishing wrath of a curse that was very much the King's fault, the siblings also must face their family's past and make the right choice.

41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?

42.  How do you feel about love triangles?

43.  What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline?

Thank you so much for the tag, @clairelsonao3!

41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?

Hmmm. I think my advice, if any, would be this:

Don't get too caught up on what others tell you to write, or what you "should be writing because its popular". Write what you want to write, write the story that ultimately makes you so excited about writing it that you can't imagine getting bored, writing something you love. Because, even if it doesn't seem mindboggling original at first, or if it feels just too weird, or if you feel like no one will read it, loving what you write is the first step to writing any good book, no matter the genre, and when it comes down to it, having fun is one of the most important things a writer should strive for, for you own happiness. And if you do have fun while writing your book, your readers will feel it, and if they are your target audience, they will love it too.

No writing is bad writing in the first draft. Those first few iterations of your story aren't meant to be perfect, they aren't even meant to be extremely cohesive - they're meant to make your story finally exist outside of your mind. It's meant for you and you alone, as the writer of the book - your first draft is yours, and you can make as many mistakes as you need to in order to improve it! If you get too caught up on being perfect on something you still need to practice, you won't be able to write anything. Needing practice isn't a bad thing - it just means you have still a long road of interesting things to learn, and that every single word you write down on that formerly blank page will be another step on the ladder to achieving the writing your dream of making. Don't beat yourself up if it doesn't come out perfectly in your first, second, third, or even tenth time - those "imperfect drafts" are each improving your own writing skill in one way or another, and one day, you'll look at your writing and see how far you've come after finally pushing through all that self-doubt.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!! I mean it. A healthy mind is a MILLION times more creative than a tired and stressed-out mind. Find the sleep schedule that works for you. Eat healthy things according to your personal dietary needs. Go for a walk. Be responsible and proactive when it comes to your scheduled activities, don't procrastinate. Follow a schedule of your own. Get things done. Watch a movie with popcorn and relax. Laugh, smile, have fun. Do the things that make you happy. Talk to your friends. Enjoy some sunlight. Talk to a therapist, if you need to! All those things that make you feel refreshed, happy, and ready to take on more challenges. As someone who battled quite a few physical and mental health problems this past couple of years, I find that self-care is the root of any productive writing session and that I write much better now that I am happy, rested, and healthy than when I was really exhausted, sick and depressed and had to force myself to write. I really, really mean it. Take care of yourself, and practice self-compassion. It may not be easy at first, but you'll see how much it makes sitting down to write much more easy and joyful in the long run <3

42.  How do you feel about love triangles?

I already got that one, here! (:

43.  What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline?

Good question! Especially since I'm constantly dealing with this, as my outlines turn into drafts. My latest experience with characters rebelling against the outline has been Ambrose Prosper - I had a specific, detailed idea of what I wanted his past to be, but then I wrote him, and he started to develop and change until the character was basically like "nope, I do what I want" and I had to revise his whole backstory to fit this new version of his character - but honestly, it was for the best. I like this new version of Ambrose's character and backstory way more than the original one!

What I do in this situation is to let it flow - I realize that, if a character isn't following the strict outline, it's because of specific personality details, intricacies and growth that have happened thus far, and that is good. I tend to then bend the outline for the character. I think "Well, if this character wouldn't do this specific thing, then what would they do in this situation?" and 9 times out of 10, the answer to this question is more original and truthful to the character than the initial outline, and so I go with this new version! I find that being flexible with your characters makes for way more organic and meaningful stories than breaking characters to fit a specific scene just because "it needs to happen" - if a character doesn't work with a scene, I'm always positive that it's the scene that needs rework and change, not the character! (:

Pyrite for the writer's meme! (Could your protag and antag ever be friends?)

Thank you so much for this ask, @littleladymab!

The Tag Game

Pyrite: Could the antagonist and protagonist ever be friends?

(I'll answer this one for some of the POV characters of my WIPs Enchanted Illusions and Of Starlight and Beasts)

I've got some pretty evil/screwed up villains in my WIPs, so the answer for most of my POV cast would mostly be a resounding no, for various reasons, but let's see why!

Enchanted Illusions

Augustus Grimmure: No, they would not be friends, not in a million years. Augustus may be a dangerous necromancer who has no qualms about killing his enemies, but he has a strict moral compass - everything he does is to protect himself, his friends, and the innocent people of the city of Ansburke. His methods may be unorthodox, but in the end, he has good reasons to do morally grey things. The villains of this story, on the other hand, are prejudiced, power-hungry people who prey on the innocent - they're exactly everything Augustus despises and swore to destroy. They would never be friends.

Agatha Greenwoods: If the situation was dire enough, she could pretend to be friends with/on the same side of the antagonists, if it meant she could discover more about their plans and find a better way to destroy their secret society for good. But she wouldn't be true friends with the antagonists, she would only pretend in order to achieve her goals and in the name of the greater good.

Evangeline Daemitya: Given that the woman who is responsible for most of her childhood trauma is affiliated with the antagonists' secret society (the Hemlock Society), I would say that never in a million years would Evie befriend those villains. Plus she is such a pure, kind-hearted girl, that I literally can't see any situation where she would even consider such an alliance!

Harriet Sharppe: Never. I think that Harriet's moral sense of justice, along with her extremely good heart, would never let her ally herself to the Duke or any of the members of the Hemlock Society, unless - and even then with extreme reservations - the lives and safety of her loved ones were at stake. Harriet would burn the world to keep her family, friends and her love interest (Augustus) safe from harm, and would even (if the situation was really, really screwed up and extreme) genuinely consider and accept a temporary alliance with some of the less screwed up antagonists in order to save her loved ones. But only in such a situation. When everything went back to normal and her loved ones were safe again she would immediately betray that "alliance" with the antagonists.

Thaddeus Lockhill: His whole life and purpose have centered around leading a secret revolutionary effort against that same Hemlock society. His cause has become the most important thing in the world to him - its what gives him his purpose in life. So allying himself with the villains would be a resounding no in any situation. He'd rather die a martyr than make such a "friendship". He might consider working with less than-moral people as informants or in order to achieve a certain mission, but he would never ally himself to the actual antagonists of the story.

Of Starlight and Beasts:

Corah Stormryder - As a knight, saving the realm and following her personal oaths is everything for her, it is her mission to defeat the Crimson Queen and keep her from killing innocent people. Corah can understand the circumstances that led Meira (the Crimson Queen) to become so vengeful, cold and cruel, but she knows that nothing can excuse what that woman has become, after so many innocent lives lost. Nothing in this world could make Corah even pretend to be friends with that woman.

Maryon Haell - As the daughter of the most influential man in their corner of the realm (a man known as the Serpent of the Frosts, due to his network of spies that leads to him knowing everything that happens within his domain), Maryon was raised to seize opportunities when they arise - I can see her definitely using whatever she can to her advantage to stop the Crimson Queen, even pretending to be her ally or something similar (much like Agatha from Enchanted Illusions), only to betray her later to save her people. She is opportunistic, but she also has a strict moral code, so I don't see her actually becoming friends with any antagonists unless: 1. she is faking it to achieve her goals (as mentioned before), 2. the antagonist in question truly has a redemption arc

Arammys Lochlain - The most forgiving and kind-hearted character in the book, Arammys believes that anyone deserves a second chance. Due to his memories of his past having been magically stolen, and his own tempestuous magic, the Crimson Queen could use a promise of "helping him get his past back" to try and lure him into a false friendship - but Arammys is very clever, and I can hardly imagine that he would fall for her scheme. While he believes anyone deserves second chances, that person needs to prove they truly want to redeem themselves, something Meira is not about to do, so they really wouldn't be friends.

Gemstone themed Writeblr asks

Amethyst: Who is the Comfort Character™ of your wip

Jade: Your favorite relationship between two characters

Rose Quartz: Were any characters cut from the wip?

Amber: Something you learned from writing your wip

Sapphire: The most upbeat dialog or overall scene in your wip

Emerald: Which of your characters is hardest to write?

Opal: What motivates your protagonist to complete their goal?

Lapis: What makes your antagonist ‘the bad guy’

Topaz: What is the main conflict of your wip?

Malachite: What do the characters have to lose?

Carnelian: Does the story have a lesson to learn? What is it?

Pyrite: Could the antagonist and protagonist ever be friends?

Ruby: Is there any symbolism used in your wip?

Tiger's Eye: What are the tropes of your main cast?

Peridot: What is your protagonist’s greatest strength / weakness

Jasper: What is your antagonist’s greatest strength / weakness

Labradorite: What made you fall in love with your wip? What motivates you to write it?